New Mercedes-Benz CLC-Class review

The rear wheel drive, three-door Mercedes-Benz CLC-Class, which goes on sale in the UK from 12 June, has a number of good points and some disappointing ones.

The good news is that nothing has changed too much, including the range starting price of £19,920. The engines have more power, return more miles per gallon and produce fewer emissions. On the downside the CLC is not totally new over the C-Class Sports Coupe models they replace.

In some ways for some people that is not such a bad thing. The outgoing Coupe was really well liked and it brought many customers to the Mercedes brand for the first time, and it retained owners in its own right.

C-Class model

Most disappointing though, it has lost its C-Class status, it is no longer a Coupe from the highly rated new C-Class Saloon and Estate family. The newcomer is based on the older and smaller C-Class, so Mercedes says new CLC branding is more appropriate.

The wedge-shaped profile is retained which gives a low glass line at the front rising to a high body waistline at the rear. At the front there has been a successful attempt to transfer the new C-Class looks to the CLC. There is the wider grille, the wrap-around projector style headlights, the large air intake in the bumper and most importantly the Mercedes star positioned in the centre of the grille.

At the rear there have been some updates from the old C-Class Coupe but the styling is not so different and strangely looks out of keeping with the more modern front and side changes. The steeply raked tailgate does not allow for acceptable rear view vision from the driver’s seat. It is like peering through a letterbox.

The UK models will have rear parking sensors as standard and the door mounted mirrors just about do the job of keeping the driver informed of what is behind the CLC on the road.

The interior is similar to the outgoing Coupe. It has been refreshed, but no more than that and the interiors of the BMW 1-Series and latest Audi A3s are now superior. The plastics look relatively ‘volume’ not ‘premium’ brand quality but the instrumentation is modern and easy to read. Rear legroom is of course limited, rear seat access not easy, and there is a fairly good boot and load area. Younger and older couples with no children will be more suited to this Coupe.

CLC specifications

The UK model line-up has been restructured. There are two distinct model lines, SE and Sport. In keeping with the added value specification SE models have Parktronic sensors, fabric and synthetic leather upholstery, a chrome trim package, automatic climate control and 16-inch alloy road wheels.

The Sport option, which costs an extra £1,100, adds 18-inch alloy wheels, metallic paint, sports suspension, upgraded interior package - but still with synthetic leather upholstery, upgraded instrumentation, tinted rear lights and stainless steel exhaust.

There are other extra cost option packs from the £400 Comfort Pack, to proper leather upholstery at £1,500 to the Panoramic Sunroof at £1,400. Traditionally most of the outgoing C-Class Sports Coupe models had most of the goodies and residual values were higher for those versions.

Business users and company car drivers in particular of the new CLC will benefit from the further improved residual values when it comes to leasing and contract hire costs.

In action the SE test cars I tried at the International Press Launch handled equally as well as the Sport models and were more comfortable without the sports suspension and bigger 18-inch wheels. The CLC’s suspension is nowhere near as compliant as the new system used for the C-Class Saloons and Estates.

The CLC might look modern but the mechanicals are aging and it shows. The CLC is certainly not as agile or as composed as the latest 1-Series and A3 competitors, but for the many older users that will not be an issue.

According to Mercedes-Benz UK there was more or less a 50/50 split between male and female customers for the previous C-Class Coupe. Sport versions were bought or used by 28 to 33 years image conscious executives buying or leasing their first Mercedes. SE models attracted older users, 77 per cent without children and where the vehicle was a second car.

During the test drive programme this week, unfortunately the best selling CLC C180 Kompressor, 143hp models were not available for the media to drive, pity as they will account for nearly 50 per cent of sales.

CLC models and prices

We did however drive the likely best selling C220 CDI, 2.1-litre 122hp diesel version, the C200 Kompressor 1.8-litre, 184hp petrol and the flagship C350 V6, 3.5-litre 272hp versions.

The latter being a very small seller indeed. Suffice to say all these revised engines, four petrol and two diesels, offer more performance, better mpg and lower CO2 emissions.

As I wrote earlier the SE variants have a much better level of ride comfort than Sport versions. The firm Sport suspension and larger wheels showed up the CLC’s shortcomings in the aging chassis department, even driving on Austria’s manicured road surfaces. I agree with Mercedes that nearly half of all CLC customers will go C180 Kompressor model.

At £19, 920 for the SE and £21,020 for the Sport they will be perfectly suitable for most people’s use. We could even see petrol model sales increasing as the price of diesel over petrol increases seemingly by the day.

However many CLCs will find their way into the fleet and business sector so better mpg and lower CO2 levels means the C220 CDI will be the most user-friendly diesel model for high mileage drivers.

MILESTONES

Mercedes-Benz CLC-Class 220 CDI

Price: SE £22,260, Sport £23,385

Engine: 2.1-litre, four-cylinder, turbodiesel, 150hp, 340Nm from 2,000rpm

Transmission: Rear wheel drive, 6-speed manual or 5-speed automatic

Performance: 135mph, 0-62mpg 9.7 seconds, 47.9mpg, (47.7mpg on test), CO2 156g/km, VED Band D £145

Dimensions: 4,452mm long, 1,728mm wide, 1,405mm high

For: More power, better mpg, lower CO2, better value for money, same price (still high), better front end styling, higher residual values.

Against: Aging driving dynamics, poor ride quality with Sport package, limited rear visibility, dated interior plastics.

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